No action against Gaylord: HC to Mumbai civic body

The BMC was stopped from taking any action against popular restaurant Gaylord, near Churchgate, by the Bombay high court on Monday.

The restaurant management had approached the high court earlier this month against the corporation having rejected their plea to regularise their cake shop and the restaurtant’s outdoor seating area.(HT)

The BMC was stopped from taking any action against popular restaurant Gaylord, near Churchgate, by the Bombay high court on Monday.

The restaurant management had approached the high court earlier this month against the corporation having rejected their plea to regularise their cake shop and the restaurtant’s outdoor seating area.

According to the plea, the restaurant was set up in 1956 and at the time, the management installed an awning and constructed a fence along a 20x5.40 metre area in front of the restaurant to accommodate the cake shop and an open seating area for its patrons.

The plan, the restaurant claims, was approved by the district collector at the time.

The restaurant management also submitted that in 1958, it paid a penalty of Rs204 to BMC and got the awning, fencing and the use of the open space regularised.

In 2001, the management paid revised licence fees and got the said arrangement re-approved and regularised by the collector’s office and the BMC. However, since then, the corporation keeps sending them demolition notices from time to time, it said.

The management submitted it also filed a civil suit against the corporation’s notices and managed to get a stay against demolition.

Yet, the corporation sent them another show-cause notice this January, asking them to respond to why the awning, the cake shop area and outside seating must not be demolished since the same had encroached upon the compulsory open space that all establishments must maintain as per BMC rules.

The petitioners told HC that after they submitted all the past papers proving the regularisation approvals and payment of penalties, licence fees etc. to the collector’s office as well as BMC, the corporation asked them to make a fresh plea for regularisation.

However, once the restaurant management made the plea for regularisation, on January 20 this year, the corporation rejected its plea.

The restaurant then approached HC.

On Monday, the management told HC that it had not violated nay FSI regulations or any other rules of the corporation and sought that the BMC’s decision to reject their regularisation plea be quashed.

The court is likely to take up the matter for further hearing on Wednesday.